![Dear [YOUR NAME], Pastor or Producer? When Films & Faith Collide](http://www.christiancinema.com/catalog/images/flywheel_giants_special_top.jpg)
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Hi friends,
In Oberammergau, Germany, the local villagers participate in a 7-hour Passion Play that's been performed every decade since 1634. At Christmas and Easter, most churches will perform a musical or drama written specifically for that season. The largest church in my hometown puts on an extravagant Christmas play every year, including live donkeys and camels strolling down the aisles on their way to the manger! Using stories to illustrate life principles can be traced as far back to the parables of Jesus.
Now churches are moving beyond traditional dramas to producing all types of media. Radio and TV broadcasts are no longer limited to mega-churches, and video production abounds.
A sneak box-office hit of 2006 was Sherwood Pictures' Facing the Giants. it was conceived by brothers (and pastors) Stephen and Alex Kendrick, who wrote the screenplay and directed the production. With a handful of film professionals acting as consultants, they led a cast and crew of volunteers from the church through the filmmaking process, and a sleeper hit was born. It was a great follow-up to their award-winning first film Flywheel.
In my interview with Alex Kendrick, it's clear that the intent of the church was not to produce a box-office blockbuster. Rather, Sherwood Pictures is trying to use every tool possible to reach out to their community and beyond with messages of encouragement, hope, and the truth of God's Word. And they're not alone. SermonSpice, which provides multimedia illustrations for pastors and communicators, was the brainchild of the media team of Peoples Church in Fresno, CA.
In celebration of churches making an impact with their media teams, I've put together the Sherwood Pictures Pack. It contains "Facing the Giants" and "Flywheel," their first award-winning film. And pick up SermonSpice's first two volumes of illustration clips. Your pastor will thank you for it!
From the screening room,
Angela Walker
ChristianCinema.com
If you're a filmmaker, a film student, or someone who's considering a career in Christian filmmaking, or someone involved in media at your church, join us at the Biola Media Conference on April 21, 2007. Media leaders, pastors, authors and musicians come together to explore who we are as filmmakers and how we can influence our culture.
Get these 2 popular films from Sherwood Baptist Church
Jay Austin wants to sell you a used car, but watch out! Many victims have fallen prey to his smiling face and hasty promises. Austin does everything his way until his dishonesty and manupulation are exposed. Like many men, he becomes disgusted with the masks he wears and lies he tells. While having a classic convertible repaired, Austin begins a humorous and inspiring journey to win back the hearts of his wife, his son, and his community. In every man's life, there can be a turning point. When Jay Austin makes his turn, he never looks back.
Filmed on location in Albany, GA, Flywheel has been shown in theaters, churches, prisons, and schools. It is an inspiring family movie surprising audiences with laughter and tears and is loved by young and old!
Never give up. Never back down. Never lose faith.
FACING THE GIANTS is the heart-warming story of a downtrodden Christian high school football coach who turns to God when everything seems to be going against him. Trusting God to do the impossible, Coach Grant Taylor and his Shiloh Christian Eagles soon discover how faith plays out on the field … and off.
Get 3 copies of this award winning film on VHS for a great price
2004 Crown Award Winner for Best Screenplay (Gold)
2004 Crown Award Winner for Best Drama Under $250,000.00 (Silver) 2004 Crown Award Winner for Best Evangelistic Film (Bronze)
An excellent story about a used car salesman who is a professing Christian who finally gets right with the Lord and has to make changes in the way he sells his cars and does business and the backlash he gets from doing that. Solid message for the believer to think about in this film.
From the makers of Facing The Giants
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Featured Filmmaker: Alex Kendrick, Facing the Giants
by Angela Walker
CC: Alex, where did the story begin for you?
Alex: It all started with prayer. It’s one thing to believe that God can do the impossible, and it’s another thing entirely to see him do it. Our church had done another movie (Flywheel) that we did with a budget of $20,000 and totally inexperienced people. I didn’t really know much about scriptwriting – I just used WordPerfect to type out the script. Yet we’ve sold over 36,000 DVDs, went into Blockbuster video, and stirred more than 2000 viewers to either accept Christ as their Savior or rededicate their lives to Him.
One day a while back we sat with our senior pastor (Michael Catt of Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia). He asked us (my brother Stephen & I) about our vision for the video ministry. We said we want to continue making movies. We read a study that said media is more influential in our culture than the church. We need to get Godly people involved in making good movies – that’s one way we can win wars and take ground back.
The story for Facing the Giants began with our dad. He’s in a wheelchair because he’s had MS for 20 years. Yet he has always encouraged us, and told us that anything was possible. So the idea began with the father-son dynamic. Then we began thinking about the giants that everyone faces. They might be fear, failure, addictions, or loss. We all try to defeat them on our own, but we can’t.
When David went to fight Goliath, he felt inferior and he had to face his fear – first he had to step onto the battlefield. So we tried to imagine what could happen in the lives of ordinary people facing their giants and stepping onto the field. Some have accused us of making the ending too tidy, but the truth is that people in our church were facing these same situations and God did miraculous things for them.
The life of the film parallels its own message. It started as a low-budget movie made by inexperienced amateurs. Through a series of circumstances only God could orchestrate, a major motion-picture company picked it up for national distribution.
CC: Wow! What a great journey! You’ve been screening the movie across the country to encourage people to fill the theaters on opening weekend. What kind of response have you seen?
Alex: It’s been overwhelming. Viewers have thanked us for encouraging them to trust God more with their own giants. They have laughed, cheered, and cried along with the characters. And, most importantly, 284 people have received salvation after viewing the movie, just in the screenings! I think it’s a realistic story with average people, so we hope that most moviegoers will see themselves in someone on the screen.
CC: Alex, you and your brother Stephen really spearheaded this film. What kind of training or preparation did you have for this?
Alex: Very little formal training. We didn’t go to film school or take any script-writing classes. We’ve worked pretty much by trial and error. Stephen & I both graduated from Kennesaw State University with communication degrees – focusing on public speaking and persuasion.
When we were kids we had a video camera & would shoot little movies in the backyard. We’d edit between the camera and the VCR, and developed a knack for plot and camera angles and that kind of thing. I was a college pastor in Atlanta and Stephen was a middle school pastor when we started doing videos for various churches. We would do summer camp videos, and one summer we did one for Sherwood Baptist Church. Their pastor saw it, liked it, and invited me to come be their media pastor. (Stephen is also an associate pastor at Sherwood Baptist)
It seems that with each project we learn more. One of the most important things has always been to have the projects covered in prayer. The pillars of the films have been Sunday School classes that organized prayer groups to cover every day of the movie – 30 shooting days over 6 weeks.
With Facing the Giants , we learned about editing and scoring, and now we’re learning about the promotion phase. There have been 60 pre-screenings, and we’ve been in 2 Christian film festivals. I think I’ve been on the road for most of 2006!
CC: What’s next for Sherwood Pictures? Will you continue to do your own stories, or will you do stories that people send you?
Alex: So far the Lord has directed us to do our own stories. He gave us a plot for our next one and it’s in the script-writing stage.
I have probably 12 scripts sitting on my desk that people want me to read and make into a movie. I think that’s someone trying to find the easy way out. It’s easy to find someone doing what you want to do and to give them your story. That says “I don’t want to do the hard things: finding funding, managing a production. I’m not going to struggle.” Personally, some of my best growth happened in the struggle.
CC: Who are some of the people who have helped you in your struggle? When you find yourself stuck or needing some input?
Alex: I have the godliest father in the world, and he is someone I always ask for advice. I also go to my wife and brothers, as well as my senior pastor at church. I’ve gotten some great advice from Arkansas Senator Jim Holt. There are some Christian filmmakers who I will call on also: Kirk Cameron , Dave & Rich Christiano , and Kevin and Bobby Downes (ChristianCinema.com). I take it all in, pray over it and give what they have to say thoughtful consideration.
CC: What would you say to people who have seen Facing the Giants and are inspired to join you in Christian media and filmmaking?
Alex: Pray it through. See what God would have you do, and then go do it. You don’t have to worry about how it will happen or how the details will come together. When Saul was converted, God first sent Saul to Ananias. Then, God told Ananias that Saul was coming. Finally, Saul got to Ananias. God’s plan for Saul followed a logical sequence, but Saul had to obey first. As Saul took the steps God instructed, he found that God had prepared the way for him.
CC: It's been 6 months since the theatrical release of Facing the Giants . Can you update our readers on what's been happening since then?
Alex: Gladly. it's amazing how much further the movie reaches since it's gone to DVD. Distribution has reached 56 countries, and the film has been translated into 7 languages so far. You can see it on cable, pay-per-view and I think DirecTV, and about 5500 local churches have obtained licenses for public showings. Sales of the DVD are approaching the 1 million unit mark, and rentals are around $12.5 million. So people are still watching it and lives are being affected.
But here's the most important statistic: we know of about 2500 people who have made professions of faith after seeing the film. That's what makes us want to continue doing this work.
CC: So what is next for y'all? Can you give us an idea of what's in the works?
Alex: Well, Thomas Nelson Publishers asked us to write a novel about Facing the Giants, so my brother Stephen & I are working on that. We have a writer to help us, and the book will be out in August. I'm interested to see the reaction, because usually people say the book is better than the movie!
We're also in pre-production for a movie we'll film this fall. I can't tell you the name right now because we haven't totally settled on it. But I can tell you it's a drama/romance about marriage. Our goal is to reinforce God's intention for marriage.
CC: Alex, we look forward to seeing that. Congratulations to all y'all at Sherwood Pictures!
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